TOKYO, Sept 10 — Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima said development of PHYSINT would continue under a new partnership with Xbox after PlayStation Studios unexpectedly cancelled the project in mid‑June.

Kojima confirmed the shift in direction through posts on his official social channels, saying his studio had spent three months searching for a new partner following the cancellation.

PlayStation later issued its own update on X, saying it had “made the difficult decision to step away from collaborating with Kojima Productions on its project PHYSINT,” while adding that it continued to hold “great admiration for Hideo Kojima’s vision for the game.”

The company said its relationship with Kojima remained strong after “three decades of industry‑leading, genre‑defining creative cooperation,” and that it looked forward to “continued close collaboration” with the independent studio in the future.

“This expands our relationship with XBOX beyond OD,” Kojima said, adding that Kojima Productions remained committed to “redefining the action‑espionage genre” with PHYSINT.

Xbox replied publicly that “it’s an honour to build the future together,” and later issued a statement outlining the expanded collaboration.

Xbox CEO Asha Sharma said creators “have choices about where and how they bring their ideas to life,” adding that the company was “honoured that Kojima‑san has chosen XBOX to work with Kojima Productions on PHYSINT.”

Kojima Productions said the partnership would extend beyond games, with Xbox and the studio planning to collaborate on film and television projects.

Kojima, one of the most influential game designers of the modern era, first gained global recognition at Konami with the Metal Gear stealth‑espionage franchise before founding Kojima Productions in 2015.

His studio released Death Stranding in 2019 and is currently developing OD with Xbox.

Kojima said PHYSINT remained “an important project both to me personally and to Kojima Productions,” assuring fans that development was ongoing.

Xbox said it would share more updates as work on the title progresses.